I'm a youth services librarian at a medium-sized library in the thumb of Michigan. This is a blog to explore what goes on here as I navigate children and adults.

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Overdrive 2.0 aka Overdrive Next Generation

So we're rolling out a new version of Overdrive soon. I've taken a peak at the video of the new and enhanced features, and I've gotta say, I like what I see.

For one, the in-browser reading sounds like an amazing idea. For someone who doesn't want to download a book, or can't figure out how to for whatever reason, being able to read the book in-browser would be really helpful.

I also really like being able to go from device to device. I don't always read on my smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S3 for those interested), but I also read on my laptop, on my husband's tablet and probably three or four other places. Just being able to go from my phone to my laptop would be really nice, especially since it (apparently) remembers where you are in the book.

Copy available or all checked out? One of the best features. The book symbol in the upper righthand corner of the cover is such a good way to show that a copy is available or not. With just a quick glance, it's easy to see if you need to put a book on hold.

And finally, one-step-checkout. This will make a lot of patrons very happy, I think. The multiple steps to check out books sometimes confused patrons, particularly those who had never used a tablet for this (or any, sometimes) purpose.